Lons
Old Oak
I didn't want to derail Steve's AI thread any further but Roger's post jogged my memory............
A very long time ago I was helping a mate to put in a filtered seawater supply from the sea at Lowestoft for the MAAF Labs. It was a major job involving digging three trenches each around 100yards long out to sea for 100mm pipe and deep holes for the filter units which looked like a bank of missiles when standing on the promenade waiting to be installed. I remember the Labour party conference was on in Blackpool at the time and I told a couple of interested observers they were pointing in that direction for a reason.
It was "fun" racing against time and tide as we could only work when the tide was out though did attempt with minor success to hold it back using the three 'dozers on the job.
Anyway the existing beach sand was of the wrong type for the filters and we bought in 60 x 1 tonne dumpy bags which were deposited at the far end of the prom. These had to be moved to the site individually using a fork lift and I took my turn with that. Sunny weather and a fair number of Joe public milling around and I was unloading one of the bags when an old lady started hitting me across the back with her walking stick. "How dare you remove the sand from our beach? You should be ashamed, I'm going to speak to my MP about this".
No amount of explanation could convince her we were adding sand not removing it. Understandable really. 
My mate is a bit of an inventor and eccentric. He was an expert on water filtration hence the contract but dangerous to work with, e.g. standing on the filter heads to keep them down, tide starting to fill the deep hole with a dozer suspending a dumpy bag over his head and he's slashing the bottom of the bag with a Stanley knife - picture the potential issue! Then the only way he could get out of the hole was grab the dozer bucket and be lifted out. H&S would have had a field day.
The pipe came in 50 m coils and were very difficult to straighten so he has the "bright" idea to tie one end to the bottom of a lamp post and the other to his car towbar, "a few sharp jerks should straighten it". I made myself scarce while he tried that one.
As an aside to that we were walking along the beach one evening after dinner when I saw a young girl maybe early 20s waist deep in the water. Something not quite right, fully clothed, her head down and didn't answer our shouts asking if she was ok so I went in and pulled her out while my mate rang for an ambulance. We visited her in hospital the next evening and she was on suicide watch but safe. we were finished the job and off home the day after so didn't get back but I often wonder what happened to her and if she managed to get the help she needed to pull her life around. It's very sad that people can get into such a state.
................a long, long, long time ago, I was standing in the check-in queue at JFK waiting to deposit a new Commodore PET computer….the name emblazoned all over the box. I was poked sharply in the back by an enraged American granny incensed that I hadn’t made any airholes in the box
A very long time ago I was helping a mate to put in a filtered seawater supply from the sea at Lowestoft for the MAAF Labs. It was a major job involving digging three trenches each around 100yards long out to sea for 100mm pipe and deep holes for the filter units which looked like a bank of missiles when standing on the promenade waiting to be installed. I remember the Labour party conference was on in Blackpool at the time and I told a couple of interested observers they were pointing in that direction for a reason.
It was "fun" racing against time and tide as we could only work when the tide was out though did attempt with minor success to hold it back using the three 'dozers on the job.
Anyway the existing beach sand was of the wrong type for the filters and we bought in 60 x 1 tonne dumpy bags which were deposited at the far end of the prom. These had to be moved to the site individually using a fork lift and I took my turn with that. Sunny weather and a fair number of Joe public milling around and I was unloading one of the bags when an old lady started hitting me across the back with her walking stick. "How dare you remove the sand from our beach? You should be ashamed, I'm going to speak to my MP about this".
No amount of explanation could convince her we were adding sand not removing it. Understandable really. My mate is a bit of an inventor and eccentric. He was an expert on water filtration hence the contract but dangerous to work with, e.g. standing on the filter heads to keep them down, tide starting to fill the deep hole with a dozer suspending a dumpy bag over his head and he's slashing the bottom of the bag with a Stanley knife - picture the potential issue! Then the only way he could get out of the hole was grab the dozer bucket and be lifted out. H&S would have had a field day.
The pipe came in 50 m coils and were very difficult to straighten so he has the "bright" idea to tie one end to the bottom of a lamp post and the other to his car towbar, "a few sharp jerks should straighten it". I made myself scarce while he tried that one.
As an aside to that we were walking along the beach one evening after dinner when I saw a young girl maybe early 20s waist deep in the water. Something not quite right, fully clothed, her head down and didn't answer our shouts asking if she was ok so I went in and pulled her out while my mate rang for an ambulance. We visited her in hospital the next evening and she was on suicide watch but safe. we were finished the job and off home the day after so didn't get back but I often wonder what happened to her and if she managed to get the help she needed to pull her life around. It's very sad that people can get into such a state.
reaction emoji for your description of the old lady taking you to task for 'removing the sand from Blackpool each... and the antics of your mate on straightening up the pipe - and slashing the bags, grabbing the dozer bucket... 
